If the name Vivian Maier is unfamiliar to you, that's because the prolific street photographer was essentially unknown throughout her lifetime. Now, three years after her death, Maier is posthumously being recognized as one of the greatest American street photographers of the 20th Century. It all began when Chicago real estate agent/local historian John Maloof bought 150,000 of Maier's negatives, over 3,000 prints and several of her original cameras for $400 at an auction house; began posting them onto a blog; and Maier (who died in 2009 at age 83) went on to become an online sensation. Maier, who was born in 1926, and spent most of her life living in New York City and Chicago, worked as a nanny, but wandered the streets on her days off, masterfully capturing the characters and street scenes she happened upon -- but sharing them with no one. At long last, her work will have a larger audience, with a show at Steven Kasher Gallery opening December 15th, a corresponding show at Howard Greenberg opening the same day, and a book, published by Powerhouse, Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, out that month. There's also a documentary about her, and Maloof's discovery of her photos, slated for a release in 2012. Above, to sate your ravenous appetites before the upcoming onslaught of Maier-related events, check out eight of the images from the Steven Kasher exhibit.